Tea: 26 posts

Andy shares his favorite summer teas in today’s perfume & taste edition.

My love of tea is perennial—but when the weather turns steamy, drinking a piping hot cup of tea just seems like punishment. So, instead of fighting against the weather, I like to use warm days as an excuse to make loads of iced tea. It could be purely my imagination, but a tall glass of iced tea on a hot day seems immediately more refreshing than just plain ice water, and without a doubt is more delicious.

Summer is also a great time to bring out all of your favorite teas and try them iced—sometimes, the most unexpected teas can taste markedly different (and utterly delicious) when chilled. Of course, summer isn’t always about beating the heat—cool mornings and air conditioning can leave me downright chilly, so I’ve compiled a list of some teas below that taste great whether steaming hot or ice cold.

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I have a new article in the Financial Times Magazine’s fragrance column, The inspirational aromas of tea ­– in a bottle. This time, it is all about tea. While Andy has been tempting  us with his tea descriptions, I explored the tea notes in perfumes. I hope that you will enjoy my selection of tea scents.

Warm jasmine petals, green twigs, cedarwood shavings… I close my eyes and inhale again. The top notes are crisp and bright, reminiscent of fresh leaves, but underneath I notice a musky sweetness. This complex scent is so heady and rich that I imagine it in a perfume bottle, but instead it blossoms in my cup of jasmine pearls tea. Please read the rest by clicking here.

Do you have favorite tea fragrances or perfumes with tea notes?

Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

The green softness of tea paired with mellow spicy notes gives L’Occitane Green Tea / Thé Vert a very appealing fresh, yet hazy quality. It recalls the pleasantly fuzzy feel of tender buds or perhaps peach skin. Despite a lavish dose of citrusy notes, Green Tea does not really venture into the territory of classical cologne. Instead, it plays up the soft woody notes and crisp floral motifs to create a simple, yet very appealing green tea fragrance.

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Despite having been around for almost 20 years and having served as an inspiration for numerous tea fragrances, Bulgari Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert has lost none of its appeal. Its misty tea accord wrapped into a layer of citrus and violet toned woods still seems exciting and original. While its name promises a familiar scent, Thé Vert delivers a novel experience. For me, it does not so much evoke the aroma of green tea, as it conveys the freshness of morning air, the bitterness of fresh leaves, the sweetness of nightblooming jasmine dissipating as the sun comes up…

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Like tuberose, incense, oud, jasmine and leather, vetiver is a note with amazing possibilities. It can assume a variety of forms, from gossamer and sheer to dense and rich. This woody material derived from the roots of  vetiver grass has such a range of nuances–licorice, grapefruit, earth, peanut shells—that it can function as the perfect chameleon. Coeur de Vétiver Sacré from L’Artisan straddles the airy and smoldering spectra by pairing vetiver with leathery birch tar and candied fruit notes. It uses vetiver to anchor the smoky and the gourmand in a woody oriental composition that is quite interesting, even if it ultimately strikes me as too tame.

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